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Panthers Trade Bridgewater To Denver
The Carolina Panthers are officially moving on from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The team has traded Bridgewater to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a sixth-round pick, according to mulitple reports.

Bridgewater, 28, spent just one season with the Panthers after signing a three-year, $63 million deal last offseason that allowed for the team to get out of the contract easily before Year 3.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Panthers will be paying Bridgewater $7 million this season with the Broncos paying him $3 million.

The trade does not take Denver out of QB market in this week's NFL Draft -- including the first round on Thursday night, a source told Pelissero.

Pelissero went on to frame it like this: "The Panthers get the 191st overall pick in this year's draft as well as cap flexibility in 2021 and 2022. The Broncos get a quarterback their new general manager, George Paton, knows well from Minnesota."

The move became expected when the Panthers traded with the New York Jets for quarterback Sam Darnold in early April. In exchange for Darnold, who will be under contract for two years if the team picks up his fifth-year option, Carolina gave up a 2021 sixth-round pick and 2022 second- and fourth-round picks. According to Charlotte Observer staffer Alaina Getzenberg, the Panthers believe in the 23-year old's potential in coordinator Joe Brady's offense, and he will be assisted by some of the pieces Bridgewater did not have around him.

The team confirmed that Bridgewater's representation had been given permission to seek a trade following the acquisition of Darnold.

Getzenberg went on to remind readers that Panthers owner David Tepper was not happy with the results on the field from Bridgewater, especially in late-game situations. The team went 0-8 with the ball in the offense's hands in potential game-winning or game-tying situations at the end of the fourth quarter.

"It's a question of who can be that guy that can help you win. That's the most important position on the field," Tepper said in December. "Unless you have that guy for sure that gets you to playoffs and Super Bowls, you have to keep reevaluating that because that's the only thing that matters is Super Bowls. And until you have that guy, you're evaluating, evaluating, evaluating every year."

In his one season in Carolina, Bridgewater largely performed as should have been expected. He completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 3,733 yards, 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also rushed 53 times and had five rushing touchdowns.

The former Vikings first-round pick in 2014 has bounced from team to team over the last several years of his career, now landing on his third team in as many seasons. The Panthers were his latest chance at a starting role after suffering a devastating injury during training camp in Minnesota caused him to miss about two seasons (2016-17).

Now he'll be part of the picture in Denver, where Drew Lock seems to be on very thin ice whether it's just Bridgewater he's competing with or if a rookie is added to the mix in coming days.